Take My Hand
by Portgas D. Jane
Summary: After events in Marinefort, Ace finds himself with the option to begin anew. Will he find what he's looking for? Will he remember anything at all or why he's gone back? Will Luffy reunite with his foster brother? Reincarnation-verse.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note:** Hello, everyone. This is going to be my own attempt at a Reincarnation!Fic. I know there are some stories posted here that touch this one topic but most of them have fallen into hiatus or are awaiting a rewrite. I know I may not be one of the best writers —especially in English—, but I'll try my very best.

Do not hesitate to point out if I've got any misspelling or grammar errors, all help is much appreciated.

 **Disclaimer:** One Piece belongs to Eiichiro Oda. I do not own anything except tit-bits of the plot.

 **Take my hand**

 **Chapter 1**

As he looked at those huge doors right in front of him, the raven-haired man scoffed. What kind of irony was that? They were white and there was the World Government's symbol on it. He could feel his nails digging into the skin of his palms as he clenched his hands in tight fists.

The sound of gritted teeth echoed in the empty space where he stood. If this was a joke, it wasn't even funny. He furrowed his brow as a noise began to rise right in front of him. The doors began to move, opening up. If he had any expectations, those were whipped out of his mind as a tall, black-haired woman crossed the doorframe and stopped a few steps from him. The young man felt his heart drop to his stomach. Something… something on that woman made him feel a pang of pain and as he looked down on himself his eyes met with the gaping hole in his chest, where his heart should've been. How did that happen?

The woman smiled tenderly towards him as she lifted her arms in a clear invitation for him to step forward and hug her.

"Mom?" his voice was a mere whisper, the insecurity dripping out. She said nothing, she just tilted her head to the side as her smile widened. "What…?" A flash passed through his head. Akainu running towards Luffy as his brother wobbled in his weakest moment. Marines everywhere, the Whitebeard Pirates fighting them off and yelling for him to run. And he stepping between his foster brother and the Admiral as the pain of having that lava-like hand pierce his chest and crushing his heart in the process. His hands flew to his head as his knees gave way. The thud he made as his knees touched the ethereal floor was loud, but he couldn't actually hear it.

The woman ran to him as she also let herself fall to her knees, her arms enveloping his shoulders and pulling him into her embrace.

"Ace, my poor, little son…" she murmured.

What happened afterwards? Was Luffy alright? He could just remember his last words to his brother: _Thank you for loving me_. Damn it! Was that all he could tell his little brother? Was that all his farewell? Shit, he had messed up and he had let him see his last moments. Why had he to sacrifice himself for him? It wasn't fair and it was only now when he realized that. How much of a trauma did it leave on Luffy?

He had to go back. It was his responsibility. Damn it, he needed to protect his little brother…

"You can go back." His head snapped up at those words. Behind them, right in front of the open doors, was Gol D. Roger. His father. "You can return if that's what you want." The man smiled, the same smile he had seen on the Wanted Posters that still remained of the former Pirate King. The look on his face was gloom. He hated that man. He had let this woman alone after she got pregnant and he had let himself be executed without ever going back to her, without even trying to know his own blood, his own son.

 _Be able to go back,_ he thought. Return to the living world, get out of this shitty place where the doors seemed the same as the Gates of Justice of the World Government… Back to Luffy, back to his brother.

"How…?" he asked. Roger's hand motioned behind him. His head spun around and saw another set of gates that were beginning to fall shut.

"If you hurry, you can go back. But in one condition…" The Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates frowned.

"Which?" he said dryly.

"You'll have to be reborn." That was her mother talking.

"Re…?"

"Reincarnate," she informed him. "Have a new life. Things may not go as you expect and maybe you won't have any memories of your previous life. Who knows? Not many have tried to do just that."

Was it worth it? Was seeing Luffy again worth the possible loss of his memories? Of his life? But, then again, he had to make sure his little brother was alright, that nothing happened to him after he'd thrown away his own life just to safe him.

"He's alive." The freckled man turned around again, this time he was met with the huge figure of Newgate.

"O-Oyaji!?" No, no, no! Why? What was _he_ doing here? What would happen to his _family_?!

"Your brother… is alive. He's safe. Jimbe and some friends of his got him out of Marineford."

"But you…" He swallowed hard. Whitebeard just broke into a fit of laughter.

"It's not the end for the crew. They still have Marco, remember? If someone can keep them all together, that's him. He's my First Division Commander for a reason. Go back, live again. Make sure to meet up with all of them again."

His eyes glassed over with fresh tears. How… how many people had they lost in this stupid war? How much more did the Marines need to happen for them to be satisfied? Why wouldn't they leave them the heck alone? He turned around as Portgas D. Rouge let go of him as he stood up on his feet. He looked back once as he watched her get close to his father and how he hugged her close to him. Was it fair to hate someone who embraced someone like that? He decided it wasn't and he bowed his head slightly as he let himself fall back when he reached the other set of doors.

"Good luck, Ace…" he heard them say before the world around him began to swirl as if he had entered in the eye of an hurricane of colors.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** One Piece belongs to Oda. If it belonged to me, this fanfiction wouldn't be necessary.

 **Take My Hand**

 **Chapter 2**

In the middle of the night a woman screamed through her gritted teeth as the midwife urged her to push, and another one held her hand while asking her to hold on, that it would be over soon. She clutched the other's hand even tighter while another wave of pain washed over her. Sweat dripped down her temples and her gown was drenched by it. She had been left alone, her husband had died right after she had found out that she was with child and the doctor had said that it would be a complicated birth since her health wasn't the best. She could die, but she wouldn't before that unborn could be delivered safely into the world because she knew… somehow, she knew that this one was important, that someone was _waiting_ for him.

"Just a little more! I can see the head… Another push, that's all is needed!" the midwife said as she grabbed a blanket, ready to get the child into its safety.

She groaned as another wave came and lifting from the mattress, pushed with all her might while the nurse that kept holding her hand wiped the sweat off her forehead, encouraging her. And when she thought that she wouldn't be able to keep going, the wailing of a baby echoed off the wooden walls of the small cabin they were tugged into as a sigh of relief left her mouth as she let herself fall down on the bed again, exhausted and so very weak… "My baby…" she breathed. "H-how's my baby?" she asked.

"He's fine," the midwife informed her while cutting the umbilical cord and wrapping him up in a warm blanket.

"It's a boy…" the woman sighed, laughing slightly. "A boy…" the nurse passed the child to her and as she saw him, she smiled at the little bundle. "Ace… That's… Portgas D. Ace… Just like the shaman told me… It happened… I- I brought him back…" She muttered to herself. "His name's Ace. Please… I don't have much time left. Take good care of him." She said when feeling that her life was slipping away from her. Her consciousness fading. "You'll meet with your brother again… I can't be there with you. I'm sorry. Sorry for leaving you alone so early, just like your previous mother did. But know this, you are loved, many people love you and care about you. Goodbye, my baby…" That way, she left. The midwife tried her hardest to save her life, but it was all in vain, her bleeding wouldn't stop and once she managed to, the woman was gone.

The two women looked at each other. They knew that neither of them could take care of the child and left him in a small town with a family that would probably be able to give him a home to belong to.

* * *

He was always there. His eyes glued to the horizon, seeing the waves break onto the rocks. As the breeze brought one strand of hair to his eyes, he brushed it back as if annoyed by it. He didn't know why but he yearned for the open sea. His subconscious telling him that his true family was out there and not here, on this island. He only remembered some names: Marco, Luffy, Whitebeard, Thatch, Izou, Jozu… But there was two more names he did remember, both bringing a feeling of pure hatred every time they came to his mind: Marshall D. Teach and Akainu.

Ace frowned as he heard his teeth crack due to the pressure. He didn't know why, but he knew that he _had_ to hate those two people. Of course he was aware of the news circulating around the Grand Line. He had read the old and new newspapers. Seven years had passed since the War of the Best. He didn't know the reason but he "loved" Monkey D. Luffy. Did he know him? Had they met before? He couldn't remember, but he felt as if they had been brothers, which was ridiculous since they didn't share the same surname. He was Portgas D. Ace, while the other was the son of the Revolutionary leader Monkey D. Dragon.

As for his own parents? He didn't know. He was told that her mother had died when giving birth to him. No one knew about his father, though. Not like he cared. For some reason they had decided to change his surname to Silvers Ace. It was, somewhat, saver. That, of course, according to the ones that had brought him up.

He knew that he was too young to set sail, but he couldn't wait any longer. Soon he was going to become eight years old and although he should wait until his sixteenth birthday as he had "promised", he had had enough.

Ace looked up, at the setting sun. He needed to leave, he yearned to meet his true family once more. And, most of all, he wanted to see Luffy.

* * *

The anniversary of his brother was approaching and anyone on the Thousand Sunny knew, by now, what did it mean. The Straw Hat Captain always ended up all wasted on deck, a bunch of bottles of sake surrounding him. Every pirate or Marine knew better than to approach the crew in these days.

It wasn't like Luffy went to pay his respects on the island where his brother rested underground. Even if the Den-Den Mushi rang, no one dared to pick it up. The captain knew that it was Marco asking him if he was finally going to show up in the Whitebeard resting place and so he forbade anyone to grab a hold of the damn snail.

Despite the fact that today was the eighth year of his sworn brother's death, Luffy felt as if it had been yesterday instead. Damn, he could still see clearly how the lava-infused hand of Akainu went through his brother's chest as Ace protected him from the blow that would've meant his own death. After all the lectures he had given him for going to safe him, he went and died in his place when he had all the damn intentions on leaving the Headquarters alive with him.

"Stupid," he spat as he uncorked another bottle and drank from it.

Yes, his brother had been stupid, but more stupid had been himself for letting his strength go so easily while the fight hadn't ended yet. If he hadn't fallen on the floor and stood there like a goddamn idiot, then Ace wouldn't felt the need to step in between him and Akainu. He would've dodged the attack and they could've run towards Trafalgar's submarine. Both him and his brother.

Even though everyone he knew had told him that it wasn't his fault, he knew better. If he had acted more maturely, if only he had been stronger, if only he had taken the advice Bon Clay had given him and avoided his confrontation with Magellan… Many things could've gone in another way had he done things differently.

But, what was the point in sitting there alone, pondering the "what ifs"? He couldn't change the past.

Luffy looked up, towards the setting sun in the horizon. They were going to dock in an island tomorrow to restock. Not like he wanted to. He was far more comfortable in the open sea in the day of his brother's death but they were really low in food and medicines, so they had no other option.

* * *

As Ace woke up the next morning, he opened the window of his room and breathed in the morning breeze. When he opened his eyes, he blinked once, twice… He covered his mouth to muffle a screech as he saw a pirate ship docked at the port. His eyes flew to the Jolly Roger and his eyes went wide.

"No way…" He checked it again. A skull wearing a straw hat. "The Straw Hat crew!"

Without even thinking it twice, he put on the first clothes he encountered and rushed down the stairs and out of the house, running with all his might to the port.

As he arrived, he saw as some of the crewmembers came down the ship. A woman with long, orange hair was giving instructions as the others nodded or answered. Ace sneaked in between the people to get to the front and as he did so, the one person he had wanted to meet the most jumped off the ship. The kid stepped forward unconsciously and when the Straw Hat Captain's eyes met him, the man seemed to freeze on his tracks as he was about to step forward.

Something clicked in Ace's mind and a painful thought crossed his mind. He was way older, wearing a pair of black cargo pants, no shirt… He was hunched over onto someone… no, not just "someone", but Luffy and the words that came out of his mouth were filled with love and regret: "Thank you for loving me."

Suddenly, everything went black and before he could even pass out, he heard someone scream, "Ace!"

* * *

 _Sorry about the delay. I didn't know how the heck I could continue this. Hope every one of you can forgive me and I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!_

 _See you!_


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